Once my parents went to an ond building’s basement. The walls were literally crawling brown (sometimes white and in-between) with roaches. Had my grandmother go there (she even asked to without knowing it!) she would have not lived up to 101 old.

When I was a kid I’d get any creepy bug I could (and scare the wits of my relatives, heh).. Only bad thing about millipedes is their defense stinking (and somewhat caustic) yellowish liquid they spread when disturbed too much. They are kinda cute, though.

Yeah, be very careful with that yellow liquid. Its not enough to kill you by skin contact by any means, but its really not healthy, and dont lick your fingers after without washing them.
Did i mention that the yellow liquid is commonly known as cyanide, and can be fatal in slightly larger quantities :)

I feel like this has come up before, but what’s the Commander’s stance on the Maxim gun? The thing has like 17 moving parts and would probably still be popular if you could move it alone which he probably can. . .

Hate to break it to you, but the MG 42 is still in active military service to this day. Or at least the functional equivalent is. It’s just designated primarily as the MG3 for models that fire the 7.62 NATO as opposed to the original 8mm Mauser. And there’s also the Swiss MG 51 and the Austrian MG 71, which are also just slightly modified versions of the original MG 42 design.

As for Browning machine guns, they’re also still incredibly popular today. Just look at the M2 sometime. It hasn’t changed much since the 1930’s, and it’s still the primary heavy machine gun for a large portion of NATO countries. The Browning M1919 may have been replaced, but Ma Deuce is still alive and loudly thumping along just as well as ever in her 90’s.

The MG-42 lives forth as the MG-3, just rechambered for NATO-calibre.
I didn’t enjoy it so much. It’s clumsy and funny looking if you shoot it single-handed while not prone (aim is also pretty off then). It’s a showy piece though and lets you look like business but I just wanted to get my tour of duty over as soon as possible, so i never seriously tried to hit anything with it.

But forget about this. AK-style weapons look better on the Commander. If he ever is to pick up a german gun, it would be the STG-44 or a G3.

I would expect no less from someone that traveled back in time to fight in Vietnam twice, once to win and again to foil himself from winning. You appreciate durability in a firearm after two jungle conflicts against… yourself.

I hereby declare it an AK-147 – with self-replicating bullets, completely maintenance free for the busy soldier, and completely indestructible even if you leave it lying under a spare tank or twenty. It’s the perfect rifle for the future soldier on the go.

Maybe it’s a future AK? Seriously, the Russians started making the new AK-12 last year, which isn’t the first updated version they’ve released. There’s no reason they or their descendents wouldn’t keep updating the design every 20 years or so into the future. AK3274, maybe? The more important question is why is his rifle loaded in the last panel and unloaded in the one moments before?

Narf! Didn;t scroll down far enough to see your reply. The name “AK3274” doesn’t have quite the same punch as “AK3247” would. Maybe an AK-474747? The AK stands for avada kedavra… the bullet just has to graze you and, poof, you’re dead.

Is that really true? I don’t remember hearing any stories about kookaburras and lyre birds killing anyone. I do know there’s venomous species of birds on the neighboring island of Papua New Guinea, but that’s not Australia!

Skull knight has a point. We have the saltwater crocodile, the largest great white shark breeding ground in southern hemisphere, the blue ring octopus, the stone fish(get stung once and you die from the PAIN ALONE, http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/stonefish/overview.html) we have the worlds most toxic snake-the inland taipan- we have numerous assorted spiders in the worlds most deadliest list, Not to forget dropbears. But we do have kangaroos and blibys and a few other friendly critters.
Lets just say there are MANY things that like to eat, kill or maim you here in australia.

PS. What are they doing on that planet besides providing millipede furniture? My guess is they’re meeting the gargantuan giant millipedes for diplomatic relations. And that’s how the gargantuan giant millipede communicates.

Yes, he needs to be arrested and put into prison for frightening the children…although the Commander’s kids might not be scared because the only thing I’ve seen them scared by is the Commander being pretty…but still.

I personally think they’re kinda cute. This is the only type of dialog I’m hearing in my head: “What? My children invaded your house? I’m so sorry. They just wanted to get to know the new neighbors. We should really welcome you properly! Hang on a sec. *Bleeeeehhhh* Children, say ‘hi!'”
Admittedly, if I went through Australian millipede season, my opinion might change. I know my indifference to moths turned into hostility when I found their larvae rolling around in my chocolate, flour, and paper towels… *shudder*

Indeed. I believe the poison they ooze is cyanide-based, so if you’re dumb enough to have one near your face it’s all on you.

Still, they aren’t bad to have around, especially where I live. They munch right through all the leaves and needles on the ground, and are happy enough to make a clam jealous when they’ve got a bunch of rotten vegetable matter to chow down.

I love the comic, but if you’re getting sick of it, then you really should consider a hiatus. I have a lot of respect for what you do, and the idea that it makes you unhappy to do it just doesn’t sit right with me. Take a breather if that’s what you need. I’m sure I’m speaking for the majority when I say we’d be happy to wait if that’s what’s required for this to not be an unwelcome burden on you.

Coela, WHY DON’T YOU QUIT? I guess you just love “never missing an update” more than you hate putting out the comic every week? I mean, *I* love the comic, but when it’s this clear that *you* hate it, the taste starts to go sour. It’s getting seriously close to “I can’t watch you do this any more.”

Sometimes, you just don’t have anything else to say. Projects are allowed to have an end.

I have to say, I *LOVE* the comic and look forward to it actively every week–BUT if you are not happy, then you need to do what’s right for you. I don’t think the quality has been suffering and this comic actually had me laughing out loud, while last week’s comic was really touching and sweet to me.

Again, though, if it is not making you happy, then it would be selfish for us to demand you keep doing it till you start to find it an unhappy chore or something. All the stuff we love about the Commander and the other characters is stuff that comes from inside you–so how could we love them and not care about the happiness of their source? *HUG*

All I would ask, myself, is that if the series goes on hiatus (temporary or permanent) that it ends with a positive sense of closure, happily ever after or something. :) And also that you keep us posted on your next project!!

I didn’t even notice the dots… and now that I look at them, they look pretty darn professional to me. “Kirby dots” is a term I had never heard until reading it here. Clearly the focus of the panel was on the foreground, and the dots make for a nice “ignore this area” effect… at least it did for me. O.o

Okay, this is one of my pet peeves. If you begin a statement with ‘I don’t mean to be X, but such and such is Y’ then you ALREADY KNOW you’re about to be X!

It’s generally not that hard to rephrase your opinion in a way that DOESN’T offend someone, rather than trying to ‘soften the blow’ with a ‘heads up’ qualifier at the beginning. I realize in actual conversation this is harder to do, but when you’re on the fucking internet, chances are that you have the time to pause before hitting send, reread what you’re about to share with the entire world, and rewrite your comment so that it sounds less offensive.

That’s not to say I don’t make mistakes myself. I do. This just gets on my nerves, especially since Coelasquid has said time and time again that she makes this comic while working a very demanding job, and inevitably people complain. If you’re honestly not trying to be a jerk to her, the least you can do is go the extra fucking mile and seriously reconsider anything that sounds accusative or disdainful.

Not to mention, if you’re going to offer some kind of criticism, at least offer what you think might have improved it. Even if it turns out you’re wrong, it’s more useful than just saying ‘this sucks’. Anyone can do that, whether they’re an artist or not. If you have an opinion, you can at least express what you believe is giving you that feeling and a rough approximation for what you think might help.

For instance:

“I think the anatomy is off. I’m not sure how, since I’ve never studied it, but the way their legs are bent is kind of weird.”

Here was what I came up with, after looking them over with a more critical eye and trying to rephrase Shart’s initial comment.

“The Kirby Dots aren’t adding the impact I would’ve expected. I think it might have been better to leave them out or to do them over, maybe with more individualized dots around the edges, or by adding some in-between the big millipede and the swarm.”

I actually think they’re fine, but I was trying to figure out what changes could be made, since it’s always better to be specific, whenever that’s possible. After all, “your shirt is inside out” is more helpful than “you look stupid wearing that shirt’.

Honestly, I mean, it’s a totally valid criticism to make but as sad as it sounds I don’t care a whole lot. The Kirby dots don’t look great, I put them in to fill some negative space but man, believe me as I was doing them I was thinking “these don’t look great too bad I have to get to work and don’t have time to make it better”. There’s a whooooole lot of jangly shitty art in this comic and I’m well aware of it, but that’s kind of the way the webcomic game works, a negotiation of “how much free time do I have” and “how much do I care about missing updates”

I haven’t missed a week since the comic started, there have been a couple guest comics in the mix but there’s been an update on the site every week for three and a half years. Occasional shitty art is the tradeoff.

Maybe you could use something of a break from the comic. Artists can have their own equivalent of “writer’s block” too.

I used to hand-draw a lot of art when I was younger & before the Internet Age came on with digital graphics, so I know something of that happening. Sometimes the Muse just doesn’t strike right & I could never figure out how professional artists could just keep going, especially on any kind of a strict schedule.

I’d rather miss a few weeks of new MGDMT if it means that you get to have a break and decompress a bit.

If you’re getting sick of the comic, try doing what the artist for Zombie Roomie recently did and redesign or tweak your characters. He said that changing up his character’s looks helps keep the comic from getting boring for him. Maybe drawing Jonesy or Jared with new looks with make a difference to you?

Guys. . . don’t any of you pay attention to any of the stuff she writes in comments and blog posts? She’s said she hates to quit something when she starts it, and us telling her to take a break or give it up just erodes her morale that much more. As for myself, I have only this to say. I love this comic and look forward to it at the start of every week. An uncolored, unshaded one-panel joke from Coelasquid is more entertaining to me than a twelve panel opus from most other webcomic artists. Keep up the good work, and thank you so much for taking the time to give us this despite how little you get in return.

I’ll be 100% honest, I thought those were millipede clouds. Like I had no idea (still don’t, besides what people have mentioned in the comments) what Kirby dots are or what they would be used for, so I my brain decided those were millipede clouds. Actually, that’s a pretty good mental image: the Commander standing miserable under an (space) umbrella, as millipedes rain down on him.

I just love seeing flat-top/buzz-cut Commander when he’s shown in duty. Also, DEM CHEEKBONES without the side burns. Damn. Anyone know of some good jaw exercises that might one day get me even remotely close to that jawline?? haha

I’d rather not have live in that situation, but I guess I can’t complain about the cicadas that haven’t surfaced around me yet. At least the last time they didn’t get in the house or all up in my food.

I feel for him so much because I’ve been in a house for a few years with this problem. They literally do get under on and into literally everything you can imagine. Then they die… under on and in everything. It gets really gross really really really quick.

Also I need to share it with this girl I know who can’t stand centipedes. I know, not quite the same thing, but still I gotta show it to her.
…Could you try to do something like this with cuttlefish next? She hates those too.

Was sleeping under the stars with friends and gals on a quiet beach one night when at 2 am more millepedes than you’ve drawn emerged from the sands. I’ve never seen so many people wake up, pack up, and cast off so fast.

So my inner arthropod geek balked at the giant millipede in the last panel. (Only one pair of legs per segment? Nooooooo!) Then it realized, oh right, space millipede, and also adorable smaller giant space millipedes!

Not just the end. The whole thing was a parody of the way the Armed forces behave and advertise. Of course the book was a different matter entirely. Still required reading in the Marines. But the movie works as a Sci-Fi Action/Comedy. And more NPH is a good thing.

Hey, wow, you’re right! Unfortunately I’m not in the part of the US that was slated to experience Brood II, so I shall have to content myself with the usual annual species. They aren’t really swarmers.

Meanwhile, now I’m wondering whether the Commander has done any tours of duty on a June bug planet…

My friend has like a whole civilization of millipedes in her backyard (all of the year, not just millipede season it’s crazy), they all go for a swim in her pool and drown.
So trying to swim at her house in summer really isn’t pleasant.

What I don’t do is try and give any, not even a little, flack to artists of webcomics, since, after trying and failing miserably on one myself, I know how hard it is to keep up with updates and whatnot.

So seriously, enjoy the comic, look past any weird art or grammar, and just enjoy the comic. I do.

(and never would have noticed any of that other crap – what is a “kirby dot” anyhow o.o – until someone pointed it out – and I still don’t get it LOL)

Love the comic. Enjoy reading it, I even share it with my friends and my hubby when there are relevant bits (hubby really enjoyed all the ones having to do with Kratos) ^^

This reminds me of cockroach season (aka: practically year-round) in Louisiana. Except also crossed with whenever the lovebugs get really bad. For those of you who don’t live on the US Gulf Coast, they’re a rather annoying type of bug. They don’t bite, but they do swarm. One year they were so bad I remember walking outside to get the mail one day, and coming back with at least 50 pairs (they actually physically join up, and look like a Chinook helicopter) on my face alone (they love to crawl inside your ears, and around your nose, mouth, and eyes). They die by the millions on the roads (only to be replaced by seemingly billions more), and its not uncommon to see cars practically painted black from being covered with their bodies (and their guts are apparently acidic and can damage paint jobs). They also LOVE the color white, and are most active in spring and summer (i.e.: the seasons when one would want to wear white to keep from overheating). They are probably the closest thing I can think of to a real life Zerg Rush.

Yeah… I remember lovebugs. -shudder- Junebugs were awful because of the dive-bombing and the crunching, but lovebugs… Their smeared guts ruin paintjobs and stink. I remembered many a summer of scrubbing off my parents’ cars and the noxious scent of lovebug that didn’t leave you for days. One time I went outside in a white sundress and suddenly was swarmed and they were crawling all over me. -shudders- In Iowa, people don’t know what lovebugs are.

The giant millipede barfing up thousands of millipedes all over the Commander just killed me hard! It took me a while to stop laughing! Pretty damn good reason to have a chronic hatred for the buggers, if you ask me. I for one appreciate all that you do here. The comic is a blast to read with humor that’s usually on point (if not, then I’m just lost as to what the punchline happened to be… when it’s not exactly machismo. But no biggie). I honestly think you have a good thing going here, even if it suffers occasionally due to time constraints. To me, that’s dedication to something you enjoy doing. I think that’s a good thing. Cheers!

Had these things in the house all the time during a missions trip in Kenya Africa. First time one of the girls saw one she screamed so loud it nearly gave the caretaker a heartattack. He thought she was being attacked by someone!

They are harmless, just not very fun to find in your shoes. just poke em and the roll up in a spiral and then toss em outside ^_^

Ugh, I can imagine that sensation of those things crawling on me when I see the last panel. For millipedes being a fear, he takes it well.
Then again, it’s Commander Badass. I wouldn’t expect any less from him.

this makes me think of the time that a friend came over & we were making rice krispy squares. only were were using oatmeal crisp cereal. so i tried one & it tasted stale, so i turned the empty box upside down to check the date of it. only the box wasn’t empty and all of these little maggots fell on my lap….. ew, ew, ew!! i can feel the commander’s pain!

I know your pain all too well! My sister first discovered it with a larva in her chocolate. We thought she was delusional. Then months later, I found a larva in my chocolate! And then I found them in the paper towels. Then the flour, the corn meal and then they were EVERYWHERE!! I was indifferent to moths before and we’d gotten them exterminated ages ago, but since then, I see one anywhere at all and it’s merciless execution in the most thorough manner.

Hey! Isn’t that the first time Commander Badass’s (love that name!) son shows his mouth and smile? :O I remember it covered by his shark doll every time before!
Awesome comics btw, I’m having such a good time reading it all! :D